The Batmobile…Before the Batmobile?

by Joe Ferguson on February 25, 2013

I’ll be the first person to admit that I spend an inordinate amount of my time thinking about comic book superheroes and the iconic cars that made their adventures possible. This would seem a common preoccupation with current pop culture, what with a superhero movie coming out every fifteen minutes and comic conventions becoming hot ticket events.

That’s why when the original 1966 Barris Batmobile (from the original 1960s Batman television show) sold at a Barrett-Jackson auto auction for a hefty $4.62 million, my heart, along with a lot of other fans’, sank a little.

I would have liked to one day see myself making my trips to the grocery store or dropping off the (imaginary) kids at school in that magnificent piece of machinery – dressed as the Caped Crusader, of course.

There’s no way I could have afforded such an immense price, but a man can dream.

Due to recent developments, however, we may have our chance to get a hold of an even earlier piece of “bat-history” – just not one quite as cool as the Barris design.

In the ‘60s, All Star Dairies had a special brand of Batman and Robin ice cream. To promote their product, they commissioned the creation of the first Batmobile. The car’s owner crafted his Batman- themed creation from an Oldsmobile chassis between 1961 and 1963 – beating Barris to the punch by a couple of years.

Sadly, the years have not been kind to this car, and if anyone were to purchase it, they would be in for a lengthy restoration process. Listed on eBay at a starting bid of $19,000, the car didn’t receive a single bid during the allotted bidding time.

That means that with the right amount of money and patience, one of us poor souls who couldn’t afford the $4 million price tag of the beastly Barris Batmobile could end up with this roughed up gem from comic antiquity.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to buy an auction car – just those one-of-a-kind wonders like the Barris Batmobile. Check into your local auto auctions and keep your eyes peeled for sweet deals on cars you can actually afford.